True Love Is Magic
by DreamsFromADistance
Summary: The final battle between Regina and the Evil Queen had come, but there was only one way to end it. For the Evil Queen to die, it meant Regina had to die, too. And Emma couldn't sway her decision. Because true love was sacrifice, but it was also so much more than that, and Emma discovered that day its true power. Post season 5, SQ One-shot. (Happy ending, I promise!)


_**A/N:**_ _An idea that came to me based off of the finale. I'd say the timeframe for this story would be well into season six. I should also note that Hook did not end up coming back from the Underworld in this story. I decided to take a little different approach to this one than my other stories, writing in first person with Emma's POV._

 _The final battle between Regina and the Evil Queen had come, but there was only one way to end it. For the Evil Queen to die, it meant Regina had to die, too. And Emma couldn't sway her decision. Because true love was sacrifice, but it was also so much more than that, and Emma discovered that day its true power. SwanQueen One-shot. I promise this has a happy ending!_

* * *

 _~True Love Is Magic~_

Everyone was there during the eventful battle. At least the ones that cared enough to be a part of the fight. My family. Our Storybrooke family.

My mom. My dad. Henry. Zelena. Regina.

We protected each other. No matter our differences, our pasts. We all came together to defend one another from the perils threatening Storybrooke because that was what family did for each other.

It was also what true loves did for one another.

And I had to learn that the hard way.

I remember when Henry told me that once I came here, the final battle would begin and I would go up against the Evil Queen. That I would be her demise and bring back the happy endings.

I didn't believe his message then.

I also didn't want to believe it now.

But that was what it had come down to. And here I was, standing next to Regina, us working together like we always did, using our magic to try and defeat the Evil Queen. The other Regina. The evil, villainous Regina.

And then my Regina. The woman I knew so well, who was so much more than her past, who had come such a long way and changed for the better.

Our magic was powerful, but we could both feel it weakening against the Evil Queen's magic. Despite being separated from her other half, she maintained her strength and somehow had grown stronger since finding her way to Storybrooke. The fuel of revenge burned inside her, and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her this time from making my mother pay. Making all of us pay. Especially Regina. Because watching the hero version of herself suffer was gratifying to her. Proved that heroism was no match for evil.

The Evil Queen grinned in satisfaction as she saw us begin to struggle.

"Come on!" I yelled in frustration, pushing forward with my hands as the magic flowed from my fingers.

Regina's voice called to me, so calm in the intense moment. "Emma."

Instead of responding to her, I focused my attention on the wicked being in front of me. "You won't win, witch!"

"Emma."

I continued to ignore her.

The Evil Queen roared in laughter. "Keep telling yourself that, dear. Even that pathetic weakling standing next to you knows better."

"Don't call her that! She's stronger than you!"

"Emma!"

And finally, I let myself turn my head to look at her.

"There's only one way to end this."

Seconds. Just seconds to say that sentence. Yet in that moment, I heard it repeat so many times in my head, circling around, sinking in and shaking my insides.

 _There's only one way to end this._

 _One way._

 _End._

 _No._

 _No!_

I knew exactly what Regina meant when those words left her mouth. I could read between the lines. The meaning popped out at me and became all too real as we locked eyes, a frown forming on her lips and her beautiful brown eyes beginning to glisten with tears.

That silent communication.

She was talking to me.

 _If the Evil Queen is to go, I must go, too._

 _I must sacrifice myself to save all of you from my former evil self._

I couldn't let her do it.

I couldn't.

"No! There must be another way, Regina!"

Her lips were quivering. She was trying so hard to hold back those tears, to stay strong for us, for me. But I was beginning to cry, and that was enough to break her. The tears fell down her face as she spoke with a voice choked with sadness. "I can't let you lose your family because of me. Not again." She gave me a weak smile. "Thank you for everything you've done for me to help me get where I am today, Emma. For seeing the hero in me, even back when I was still a villain. I'll never forget that you always believed in me."

 _This can't be the end._

 _It can't be!_

 _There's so much I want to tell you, Regina._

 _But most importantly…_

 _I love you._

 _I love you, Regina Mills!_

But I couldn't get the words out. All I could say was her name.

"Regina!"

"Tell Zelena and Henry that I love them both very much, okay?"

"Please, Regina. Don't…"

But it was too late. She stopped me before I could protest any further. She found the strength to fling me and the Evil Queen in opposite directions. With me, so gently that I fell into my mom's arms, and she pulled me close to her. With the Evil Queen, she was thrown hard against one of the cars parked on Main Street, so forcefully that the alarm began to blare. Regina jerked her hand downward, silencing the deafening noise.

I watched the scene unfold in front of me in a blur.

The Evil Queen stood up quickly and brought her hand across her chin, healing a small cut from the impact. "Look at you being the hero. So sweet. I should be _sooo_ afraid."

"I will not let you hurt them."

"Oh, I should know. But that's too bad, dear. Because you're not powerful enough to protect them. You just don't have it in you anymore. You're weak."

"No. _You_ are the weak one. This wanting to take revenge? It will lead you nowhere but to the destruction of your own self. Because enacting that curse? It didn't just take away Snow's or Charming's or our realm's happiness. It took away mine. Because even though I had control and all the power I ever wanted, I still didn't have the one most important thing in life. Love."

"Love is weakness."

"No. That's my mother talking. And even she came to realize how wrong that statement was."

"I've had enough of this."

The Evil Queen raised her hand, and Regina was lifted in the air. She closed her hand slightly, choking Regina. I fought in my mom's arms, but she wouldn't let me go. I heard both Zelena and Henry let out a cry, but my dad held them back. We all knew Regina wanted to fight this alone so that no one else got hurt in the crossfire.

"How about this? First, I'll kill you. Second, your sister. Then, I'll make the Charmings watch their daughter suffer the most unbearable death. And lastly, I'll get rid of them. Should be easy enough since you and that annoying blonde won't be around to stop me."

"Don't… Do that to them… To Emma."

"Why defend that idiot? Wouldn't have lost your soulmate if she hadn't begged all of you to go to hell to retrieve her boy toy. Sad, too, because she risked all of your lives on a wasted trip that failed to bring him back."

"She's… My friend."

"And I suppose friends do that for each other?"

"Stop…"

The Evil Queen laughed wickedly. "Great. I'd love for this to be over." She clenched her hand, stealing the air from Regina's lungs. I saw Regina's hands twitch, and I knew she was trying to summon her own magic to break free, but she just couldn't. She was stuck.

I couldn't let it end this way.

I pushed forward, breaking away from my mom's grip this time. I flung my hand outward, white light flashing before me, and the Evil Queen was thrown into the car once again. Regina fell to the ground, gasping for breath, and I ran over to her, placing an arm around her shoulder.

"Emma…"

"I've got you, Regina. It's going to be okay."

She shook her head. "Emma! You need to go!"

"Argh!" The Evil Queen looked over her shoulder, glaring at me. " _You._ " She got up and marched to us, a fireball igniting in her palm.

Regina pulled me to my feet and stepped in front of me. "Stay. Away. From her." She turned her wrist in a quick motion and the fireball was extinguished.

"Oh, there's plenty more of where that came from." She prepared to throw another fireball in our direction, but this time, it was extinguished by someone else. I looked behind me to see Zelena had approached the scene, holding her hand up in front of her.

"No one hurts my sister. Or my friend."

I smiled at her as my way of saying thanks, and she nodded at me in understanding.

"Well, since none of you are going to make it easy for me, I'll just have to resolve that, then won't I?" She abruptly flung her arm in the direction of Zelena and the others, and with that, they were frozen to the spot.

That left me and Regina.

"Emma, get out of here."

"No! I won't let you do this alone."

"Emma! She's going to kill you!"

"She's going to kill _you!_ "

"I don't matter. You do."

My eyes began to water again. "Regina. How can you even say that?"

"I think I can be of help here," the Evil Queen said, approaching us. " _Neither_ of you matter, so don't bother wasting your time arguing over it." She stopped in front of us, her brown orbs burning spitefully. "Now. Let me not waste any more time in killing the both of you."

I put my hands up instinctively, ready to deflect anything she had coming our way.

The Evil Queen smiled wickedly at me. "Maybe I'll change my original order. I think killing the Savior before the weaker version of myself will be much more satisfying." She took one step toward me, but was met with Regina's magic, being flung away yet again.

I opened my mouth to say a quick 'thank you', but the words got caught in my throat when I saw what happened next.

 _No._

One second, she was raising her hand to her chest.

The next few, a quiet cry escaped her lips as she plunged her hand forward and then an even louder one as she pulled her hand away.

And the last second. A beating, glowing red heart unmarked with any spots of darkness resting in her hand.

The sentence pounded in my mind once more.

 _There's only one way to end this._

"Regina…"

She grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face her. And this time, the tears were rushing down her face like a waterfall.

"Please, don't…"

And then she spoke the last three words I thought I would ever hear from her.

"I love you."

I choked out the question, thinking I had misheard what she had said.

"What?"

"I love you, Emma Swan."

"Regina, I…"

Her lips crashed into mine before I could finish, and she kissed me so passionately that I forgot everything that was happening around us. I reciprocated immediately, trying to communicate all of the feelings I had about her that I had been suppressing for too long. We were both crying so much, we could taste the tears that had fallen on to our lips. We could hear the Evil Queen walking towards us, but her booming laughter at the scene seemed far away as we indulged in the moment and deepened our kiss. I reached for Regina's free hand, entwining my fingers with hers, and squeezed her hand tightly. When I felt her back away, I tried to hang on to her lips, pleading with her to stay with me, to let me help her fix this. But she broke away from my lips, and then from my fingers, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Please, Regina. Don't do this."

"I have to."

"No, you don't."

"Emma. I'm doing this for you. Because I love you. And that's what true love is. It's sacrifice. Giving up everything for the people you love."

She pushed against my shoulders gently.

"No, Regina! I can't lose you! Please!"

"I'll always be with you, dear." She lifted her hand to my chest and placed it over my heart. "Right here. In your heart." She let her hand rest there for a few seconds before moving it away.

"Regina, _please._ "

She frowned and tapped my shoulder again.

" _Please!_ "

And then she gave me such a hard push away that my feet responded automatically. I stumbled backward, completely dumbfounded, continually taking steps away from her because I had lost all concept of what was going on. I just couldn't think. Nothing made sense anymore.

Regina took one last longing, sad glance at me and then turned around.

The Evil Queen was still laughing.

"Oh, don't look so surprised. You didn't think I knew that you were madly in love with her? Remember, dear. I was you. I know all of your deepest, darkest desires."

"Shut up!"

Her mouth closed, and she looked at Regina with sudden worry flashing in her eyes. She had just noticed the heart in her hands. "What are you…?"

"Shut up."

The Evil Queen's eyes narrowed. After a few moments of silence, she found her voice again, but it had lost strength, the hint of fear clearly there. "You can't do it."

"Try me."

"But what about your precious Emma?"

"I'm doing this to protect her. To protect her family. And my family. Because true love? It means you'd do anything for the people you love. Even if that means you have to sacrifice yourself to make sure they don't get hurt."

Regina began to close her hand around her heart.

The Evil Queen put out her hand. "No!"

"Goodbye, Evil Queen."

And before the Evil Queen could do anything more, Regina squeezed her hand around the beating object.

Crushing it.

The dust blowing away from her fingers along Main Street.

The Evil Queen fell immediately to the ground, disintegrating into nothing like Regina's heart. Just like I had seen her do when Regina pulled out the heart from her and crushed it on the New York rooftop all those weeks ago.

Regina stayed standing several seconds afterward.

It was like the love we had for one another was giving her those extra moments of life, and maybe, just maybe, it would keep her alive.

I took a step towards her.

 _Please._

 _Stay alive for me._

 _Please, Regina._

 _I love you._

 _I love you_ so _much._

But then she came to her knees, falling forward as she let out an agonizing scream.

I ran to her, catching her just before her head could hit the concrete.

"Regina!"

Her eyes had closed.

She wasn't breathing.

I checked her pulse.

But nothing.

I shook her shoulders, as if that would will her to wake up from the death that had consumed her.

"Regina! No, please! Come back to me! Please!"

Nothing.

"NO!"

I buried my head in her chest and let the tears fall.

She had loved me.

She had fucking loved me!

And now, she's gone…

 _It was always you, Regina!_

 _I'm so sorry…_

 _I messed up. I should never have stayed with Hook. I should have dumped him a long time ago and told you how I truly felt. I was just so scared, Regina. You had Robin, and I don't know. I just never thought… I never thought you loved me._

 _Please…_

 _Please come back to me. Please! I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Henry…_

 _Regina Mills…_

 _Please._

 _Open your eyes and smile at me and tell me that you're okay and that you love me._

 _I want to hear it again._

 _I want you to hear_ me.

"She heard you, Emma."

I looked up, my vision clouded by all of the tears in my eyes. Zelena was sitting across from me, smiling sadly at me.

Everyone had been unfrozen as soon as the Evil Queen was defeated. They had all seen Regina collapse to her death.

"Wherever she may be right now, I know she's looking down on us and she heard it. Everything you said."

"I… I said all that aloud?"

Zelena nodded.

"Oh."

I looked to my right, seeing Henry and my dad, and then looked to my left, seeing my mom.

"She told me she loved me."

My mom started to rub my back when I started to sob again.

"She sacrificed herself… To save me… To save all of us."

"She died a hero," my mom said.

A hero.

My hero.

My savior.

Our savior.

"Can I have just a little more time alone with her? There's a few more things I want to say…"

My mom responded. "Of course, Emma. Just let us know when you've finished."

"Henry? Zelena? You don't mind?"

Henry shook his head. "No, Mom. It's okay."

Zelena took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Really, Emma. Take the time you need."

"Thank you."

I watched them walk away before I turned back to Regina. With a shaky hand, I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and then stroked her cheek softly.

"Why, Regina? Why did you have to do it?"

I began to trace her features with my finger, trying to remember every detail of her face.

"There had to be another way. There just had to be."

I wiped away a few tears of mine that had fallen on her face.

"I meant it. I've always loved you. I really have."

I chuckled quietly.

"Typical Miss Swan of me, right? Letting those walls build up around my heart because I was too scared to tell you the truth? I loved it when you called me that, by the way. I can just imagine you saying it now. Miss Swan. Miss Swan…"

I bit my lip as another, now painful, thought came to me.

"I called you Gina in my head a lot. I let it slip back in New York. That would have been my nickname for you. I think you would have liked it. Just like I also liked it when you called me dear."

I took both of her hands in mine.

"I wished you hadn't done it, but… Thank you for saving me. For saving us. I hope that wherever you are, you're at peace. You deserve it, Regina. You're a true hero. We'll never forget what you did. You were our savior." I squeezed her hands. "And, Gina? You'll always be my savior. Always." I leaned down to her. "I love you, Regina Mills." I pressed my lips against her now cold ones, pouring all of my love into the unreciprocated touch.

But then there was a flash of bright light.

I felt something.

Her lips twitched.

A faint breath.

I backed away, eyes wide.

 _Could she…?_

 _Could it even be possible?_

She opened her eyes. She smiled. And she said, "I'm okay, Emma. I love you, dear."

She really had heard it all.

"How…?"

"True love, dear. It's magic. But not just any kind of magic. The most powerful magic of all." She squeezed my hands. "It creates happiness."

I smiled at the words she had told my mother years ago. "I thought I lost you."

"I know, dear. And I'm sorry. But I had to protect all of you."

"I know. I would have done the same."

Regina pulled one of my hands closer to her and placed it on her chest. "Feel that?"

I did.

I didn't understand, though.

She had…

Her heart…

But _how?_

There was a heart in her chest, and it was beating.

I looked at her in shock. "But you crushed it."

"I know."

"Then how…?"

"True love, Emma. That's how."

"It gave you another heart?"

"Something like that. I don't know. I really can't explain it myself."

I blinked in confusion.

"Miss Swan, please just be thankful of what happened and kiss me again, would you?"

 _Miss Swan._

My lips turned upward in a smile, and I met her for a kiss.

"I love you, Regina Mills."

"I love you, too, Emma Swan. Oh, and dear?"

"Mhm?"

"I liked when you called me Gina back in New York. So… You can call me that."

I smiled against her lips.

"Mom?"

I backed away from her and turned to Henry.

"She's okay, kid. She's alive."

Zelena ran over to us, with my parents following close behind. "Regina! How…?"

My dad responded, wrapping an arm around my mom's shoulder. "True love."

She smiled at him and repeated Regina's message to me. "True love is magic. The most powerful magic of all."

I glanced at Regina, and she beamed. I helped her up, and Henry immediately pulled us into a hug.

"Moms."

We both said his name in unison and mumbled "We love yous" into his ear.

When the three of us backed away from the embrace, I stepped aside to allow Zelena a moment with her sister. After they were done, my parents came to her side, each of them giving her a hug. My mom stayed with her a little longer, exchanging a few words with her.

I was still in awe by everything that had happened.

One moment, we were battling the Evil Queen.

In another moment, Regina had told me she loved me.

And then came what I thought was the end. Regina dying for all of us to kill off the Evil Queen once and for all.

But here she was now, walking towards me and smiling that beautiful smile of hers.

My Regina was very much alive. And true love had made that happen.

"So," Henry began, turning to face the five of us. "Head to Granny's? What does everyone think?"

Zelena spoke first. "Well, I think it's a lovely idea." She looked at my parents.

"I could go for some food right now. Snow?"

"I agree with David. Food would be nice. But I would also enjoy spending time with all of my family."

I smiled at my mother's words. She smiled at me in response before she began to talk again.

"Emma? Regina? What do you two think?"

"I think it sounds like a plan. Actually, I think I could go for some cocoa with cinnamon." Regina turned to me. "How about you, Emma?"

"Oh, you know I'm all for my cocoa." I looked at everyone around me. "And for spending time with all of you, of course."

My mom nodded ahead of us. "To Granny's we go."

We let everyone get a little bit of a head start before turning to follow.

Regina put out her hand to me. "Together, dear?"

I closed my hand around hers. "Always, Gina."

She leaned towards me, and we kissed once more.

"I love you, Emma."

"I love you, too, Regina."

We walked to the diner, hand in hand. Together like we did everything, and how we would continue to do in the future.

True love is magic. Magic that united me with the wonderful woman walking beside me.

I would never forget its power and the happiness that it truly did create.

And I would never forget this eventful day.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Don't hate me for almost killing Regina! (I could never let that happen to Emma, though!) _

_I hope you enjoyed! Leave a review and let me know what you thought :)_


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